Truth or Dare
by Aria-fic
Summary: One-shot! While awaiting the Wizengamot’s verdict regarding the last remaining death eaters, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Snape, Lupin, Draco, Tonks and Ginny engage in an eye-opening game of ‘Truth or Dare’.


**Truth or Dare**

By Aria

**_Pairing: HP/SS, mention of a few others as well_**

**_Rating: PG 13_**

**_Category: Romance, fluff_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else to do with Harry Potter. Just the warped storyline added. No profit, no gain, and all that jazz._**

**_Summary: While awaiting the Wizengamot's verdict regarding the last remaining death eaters, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Snape, Lupin, Draco, Tonks and Ginny engage in an eye-opening game of 'Truth or Dare'._**

**_AN: Italics denotes Harry's thoughts_**

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"Thank you for your testimony, Miss Granger. You may step down," Amelia Susan Bones, newly appointed head of the Wizengamot announced sharply to the courtroom.

The room was packed with defendants, witnesses and curious bystanders who had somehow managed to be admitted into the hottest show in town: the trials of the last group of high ranked Death Eaters who had recently been apprehended by an elite group of Order of the Phoenix members: Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Nymphadora Tonks, and Virginia Weasley.

Among the other witnesses one might find the light side's two spies: Potions Master extraordinaire, Severus Snape and his godson, white-haired Draco Malfoy along with the famous werewolf, Remus Lupin.

It had been a grueling month of back-to-back testimonies, interrogations, cross-interrogations, and overzealous speeches made by counsel on both sides of the court. Lucius Malfoy, Peter Pettigrew, and Edmond Parkinson had opted to remain silent throughout the proceedings, while exercising their right to decline veritaserum. Whereas Malfoy Senior had sat through the court sessions with haughty sneer on his face, Pettigrew had squirmed and sniffed through most of it, while Parkinson's expressions varied from fear and horror to pride and confidence.

Today was the very last day of testimony, after which the judges would deliberate among themselves in hopes of arriving at a unanimous verdict.

All witnesses had been subjected to veritaserum on this day, as their final affidavits had been entered as evidence for the prosecution.

Madam Bones adjourned the court while requesting that the witnesses remain behind, since the verdict was to be decided later that day. This means a large hall in the Ministry of Magic now held a very odd group of wizards and witches, all drugged by truth serum and forced to remain in one another's company for an unknown period of time.

At first the group sat around on the uncomfortable hard wooden chairs supplied by the Ministry in relative silence, which was occasionally interrupted by a word or two shared by the closer friends in the group.

Snape had withdrawn to the back corner levitating the hard wood chair and transfiguring it into a plush armchair, before shaking his head while muttering sardonically "One might think they were muggles, sitting on those things as if they had no other choice."

The rest of the group looked abashed as they realized the truth in his words and proceeded to improve their own seating arrangements. Draco Malfoy, who had been lingering by the window moved closer to his godfather, summoning a chair for himself.

"Do you think they'll be found guilty, Sev?" Draco asked quietly.

Snape arched an eyebrow, looked down at his godson and replied:

"Of course they'll be found guilty, boy."

Upon seeing Draco's expression tighten, he added:

"I hope you're not beginning to regret your part in bringing Lucius down."

Draco shrugged and leaned back in his chair, not wishing to discuss the matter further.

On the other side of the room Remus Lupin was seated alongside Tonks and Kingsley. The three remained silent and each appeared to be deep in thought. All of a sudden Harry Potter rose from his seat and marched purposefully over to Remus. The sandy-haired man looked up questioningly at Harry, who asked if he could ask him a question. He explained that this question was long overdue, but that he'd never found the nerve to ask it until now.

"Why ask it now then?" wondered Remus, concern evident in his tone.

Harry placed his hand on Remus' shoulder as he whispered sincerely:

"You have no choice but to answer truthfully now."

Remus winced but nodded at Harry, giving the young man permission to proceed.

Summoning his newly transfigured beanbag over to where he was now standing, Harry made himself comfortable at Remus' side and asked:

"Do you blame me for Sirius' death?"

The werewolf looked directly into Harry's eyes, then lowered his gaze to his own feet and sadly replied: "Not anymore, Harry."

"But you did, at one time?" the young wizard persisted.

Remus continued staring at his shoelace as he continued:

"Yes. When Sirius first died I blamed you. I couldn't get over the notion that had you gone directly to Albus, Sirius might still be with us."

Harry shuddered softly, but remained in place, wishing to finally know the truth.

"I thought your big-headedness and disregard for rules and authority had brought on my lover's death."

A single tear rolled down Harry's cheek as he mumbled a quick thank you to Remus and apologized for having put him on the spot.

Remus looked up at Harry and before the young man could respond, he found himself drawn into the older man's tight embrace. "I don't blame you anymore, Harry." Remus mumbled softly in his ear as tears streamed down both their faces.

After this strange display of affection the room receded back into silence for several strenuous moments before Tonks' face lit up strangely and a sly smile graced her face.

"Listen everyone," the witch said loudly so that everyone in the room would hear her.

"I think we should play a game of 'Truth or Dare'. I mean we all have burning questions to ask and since none of us can lie at the moment, we'd finally get to the bottom of things." As she finished her sales pitch she sent Harry a knowing smile. After all, this idea of hers was aimed at helping him admit some truths to himself as much as to others. The young wizard may not know it himself, but Tonks was pretty certain he had unsettled issues with several people in the room.

As soon as Tonks made her suggestion everyone present began to panic. Ginny's face resembled that of an overripe tomato, whereas Hermione appeared to be weighing the pros and cons of partaking of the game. Draco schooled his face into his trademark sneer but when he opened his mouth to spew malice, what actually came out was: "That's a great idea!" As soon as he realized what he'd said the blond wizard covered his mouth guiltily, but no sooner was he dragging his chair behind him and joining the circle forming in the middle of the room.

"Will you be joining in, Severus?" Tonks asked, an amused smile on her face.

Snape turned to face the blue-haired witch and replied:

"I most certainly will! Nothing would give me more pleasure than playing this infantile yet exciting game with this particular group of former students."

For a split second it seemed as if he too was flabbergasted by his own admission, but he quickly drew his mask back on and joined the group, as proudly and haughtily as ever.

Once the entire group was arranged in a circle and a bottle was conjured, Tonks spun it in the center. When it came to a stop its ends were pointing at Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

Tonks rubbed her palms together while smirking with pleasure as she proclaimed: "The bottle cap is pointing at Harry, which means he asks Draco."

The black-haired wizard glared at his childhood nemesis and hissed: "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth" Malfoy replied matter-of-factly, wondering what in Merlin's name Potter would embarrass him with.

Harry's brow scrunched up for a short moment before he asked:

"How do you feel about having testified against your own father?"

"Terrible. I only did it cause I had no other choice. If I'd refused to testify I would have been charged with Death Eater crimes myself." The cool blond icily replied.

Harry nodded and Ron was heard muttering "I knew it!" while Tonks spun the bottle a second time. This time it was Severus' turn to ask Hermione. A flash of panic in her expression, the young witch attempted to send her ex professor a defiant look, while awaiting his question, which she didn't doubt would be cruel and spiteful.

The potion's master twiddled his thumbs nonchalantly, the ever-present sneer still on his face, as he drawled: "Miss Granger, I've been wondering this ever since your 7th year at Hogwarts. Why would an intelligent, competent witch such as yourself saddle herself with a man who by all measures does not surpass mediocrity?"

Ron was livid as he shouted "Fuck you, you bitter old git!" and Hermione's eyes grew narrow and were filled with anger, as she coldly replied:

"Professor Snape, perhaps being the intelligent and competent witch that I am has enabled me to look past the surface and into Ron's heart and soul, both which happen to be beautiful and trustworthy. Something, might I add, a narrow-minded sodding bastard such as yourself is quite naturally incapable of seeing!"

Harry patted Hermione on her back in encouragement while glaring angrily at Snape.

The next few rounds were less emotional, as Ginny dared Tonks to transform her features into Molly Weasley's and Remus asked Ron if he'd ever been with another woman, other than Hermione. Since the pair had gotten together at the tender age of 16, the answer was no, of course.

When the bottle ceased spinning again Harry cringed visibly. The bottle's cap was pointing at Snape while the other end was directly before him. He inhaled deeply and braced himself for the scathing question, which he was certain would come.

"Truth or Dare?" Snape asked coyly.

"Dare" the emerald-eyed wizard replied, figuring anything would be better than spilling one of his secrets to Snape.

"How brave of you Potter," Snape drawled sarcastically.

"I dare you to kiss the person you are most attracted to in this room."

_Nonononononono, anything but that!_ Harry thought to himself as he froze in his seat, not wishing to reveal such an intimate detail about himself.

It wasn't that he was gay, as everyone in the room already knew that. In fact, most wizards and witches were bisexual, so it didn't pose much of a problem. What he dreaded was admitting his attraction to the man who had been plaguing his fantasies ever since his last year at Hogwarts. He hated the man and the man certainly despised him in return…but even the great Harry Potter could not fight the effects of such a strong truth serum. Within moments he was on his feet walking directly towards the object of his affection.

Gasps of shock and cries of amazement were heard from virtually everyone in the room. Everyone but Tonks, that is, as Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world, killer of Voldemort, and most hated former student of Severus Snape leaned down towards the man's face and kissed him on the mouth.

It was a sweet, lingering kiss that started out hesitantly but grew deeper as the recipient overcame his initial surprise. Snape welcomed Harry's tongue into his warm mouth, leading it in a graceful and sultry dance that left both men aroused. It wasn't until after they broke the kiss that they realized Harry had conveniently slipped onto Snape's lap and their hands were entwined together.

Blushing profusely, Harry rose timidly and returned to his seat, avoiding the questioning glances from his friends.

In an attempt to help her friend overcome his embarrassment Tonks spun the bottle again, which landed on Draco and Ginny.

Learning from Harry's mistake, Ginny chose truth.

"Now that the trial is over, can we finally go public?"

Ginny's mouth formed a soft smile as she looked over to her gaping brother. She felt an internal tug-of-war since the veritaserum wanted her to reply to the question she'd been asked, whereas she preferred to begin by explaining the situation to her clueless brother.

The drug finally wore her down causing the pretty witch to grin happily at Draco saying: "Yes, Draco. I'd like that."

She then immediately took Ron's hands in her own as she gently explained that she and Draco had been in love ever since her 7th year at Hogwarts.

Draco had remained behind at Hogwarts after his own graduation under the guise of being Snape's teaching assistant, whereas in fact the potion's master was training his godson in the complex art of spying. Ginny and Draco had formed a friendship, which developed into a deep romantic relationship, but had been kept it a secret from everyone since the unlikely pair realized how unpopular such a match would be. Now, however, with the war finally being over and Draco's name being cleared by his testimony in the trial against his father, the couple had decided to stop hiding their emotions from the rest of the world.

Ron stared at Ginny in disbelief before turning his gaze to Malfoy:

"I don't know how you managed to brainwash my sister, you arsehole, but from now on you keep your grubby paws off her, you hear me?"

"Ron!!!" Ginny wailed. "Stop that! He hasn't brainwashed me. We love one another just like you and 'Mione do! Why is that so wrong?"

Ron looked as if he were about to explode in anger:

"How can you even compare the two?" he bellowed at his younger sister. "'Mione is a good person, as opposed to the snake you've chosen for your boyfriend!"

Ginny covered her face with her hands and began sobbing loudly. Draco made a move to comfort her but thought better of it after being awarded another one of Ron's maniacal glares.

"I think the game is officially over" Tonks sighed sadly, folding her arms around Ginny and rocking the sobbing girl.

The rest of the circle dispersed quietly and Severus reclaimed his corner at the back of the room. Harry remained in his seat, still unable to look anyone in the eye. He flinched as he felt a hand ruffling his dark mane of hair and looked up to find Remus looming above him.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Harry. He's not a bad person, you know. Just a bit rough around the edges."

Harry raised his head quizzically and offered the werewolf a disdainful look.

"Yeah right. He's a malicious bastard. He gets off on making my life hell and I seem to like it. What the hell kind of a man finds himself attracted to the one person intent on humiliating him?"

Remus chuckled softly. "I did."

"You what?"

"I found myself attracted to the one person who was intent on humiliating me."

Seeing Harry's confused expression the sandy-haired man shuffled over closer to him and explained: "Sirius and I were good friends throughout school, as you know."

Harry nodded.

"But then, in our 7th year Sirius started taunting and teasing me. He didn't do it in public so few people knew about it, but it hurt me, nevertheless. At first I thought he'd changed and no longer wanted to be my friend. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out what I'd done to deserve such lousy treatment from someone I held so dear. It was your mother, actually, who helped me see the truth."

Harry was listening to Remus intently, confused by the story, but eager to find out more.

"Lily was very perceptive of human emotions. She could read through most people like an open book. One day she cornered me in the Gryffindor common room and explained that Sirius was behaving this way because he had feelings for me. Feelings of a romantic nature, but that he didn't know how to go about acting on them.

"At first I was surprised by this, and like you, I wondered what sort of man I was to feel attracted to Sirius for this type of behavior. But then I realized that I cared for Sirius so deeply that I could see past his rough exterior and 'macho' act and could appreciate his fear and insecurities, which had caused him to behave so cruelly towards me.

"Needless to say, I chose to confront Sirius about his feelings and you know how that worked out…"

Harry offered Remus a small smile and squeezed his hand.

"Thanks for telling me your story, Remus. But I still think my relationship with Severus is very different."

Remus nodded in agreement.

"Every relationship is different, Harry. All I'm saying is that you owe it to yourself to explore your feelings rather than to bottle them up in an attempt to stifle them out of your system. You deserve better than that."

Remus rose and walked over to Ron, probably hoping to talk some sense into the raging redhead, while Harry remained in his seat. He thought over all that Remus had told him and unknowingly snuck Severus a glance.

The long-haired wizard was seated stiffly in his armchair, massaging his temple. A moment later, their eyes met briefly and Harry was blown away by the heat that emanated from that single gaze.

Mustering all his courage, the young Gryffindor rose to his feet and once again, marched across the room towards the object of his affection.

_It's now or never_

He sat down beside Severus, not saying a word.

He didn't know for certain, but imagined 10 or 15 minutes went by with both men sitting stiffly next to one another, not knowing how or what to say.

From the corner of his eye Harry noticed Hermione lecturing Ron adamantly and Draco finally draping his arms around the sniffling Ginny, who threw her arms around him emotionally.

_Those two would never have made sense to me yesterday, but now, for some strange reason, they do. They seem to be very much in love, that's for sure_

"It seems today has been quite a day for shocking revelations." Severus' silky voice brought Harry out of his reverie.

Harry nodded dumbly, not knowing how to respond.

"I must say, Potter, your ability for kissing far surpasses your ability for potion making."

Harry blinked twice, hardly believing his own ears: "What did you say, sir?"

Severus came closer to Harry so that their faces were mere inches apart. He took the young wizard's hand in his own and whispered seductively:

"I said that your kissing skills are rather impressive and that I'd quite enjoy examining them again, brat!"

Harry gazed into Severus eyes, which were filled with humor, lust, and sincerity. It was at that moment that he realized that like Ginny and Draco, he didn't care what the world might think and that nothing had ever felt as exhilarating and earth shattering as that one kiss he had shared with the sexy man seated beside him.

Furthermore, he decided that he'd been wasting so much time berating himself for the emotions he had for Severus. Time, which would have been much better spent kissing, holding, caressing the man.

So without further ado Harry cupped Severus' face and brought his lips to meet his own. This time the kiss was more confident as both men melted into each other's mouth, tongues swaying and licking to the beat of their hearts, as they finally let go of their inhibitions, apprehension, and doubts.

It was the best kiss of Harry's life.

It was the best kiss of Severus' life.

When their lips finally parted both men were quite obviously aroused and panting, as Harry mumbled into Severus' ear: "Truth or Dare?"

"Truth"

"How do you feel about me?"

"I want you. I thought that much was obvious. And I imagine that I must love you to be doing this."

Harry grinned happily before continuing.

"Sev?"

"Hmmm?"

"Would you have admitted that without the veritaserum?"

Severus chuckled amusedly as he whispered in Harry's ear:

"The serum wore off at least an hour ago."

_**Fin**_

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